Tiny Bit of Hope
by Selfish Shellfish
Summary: Six-year-old Gregory House meets the strange man with the blue box. The Doctor manages to give Greg a little bit of light to focus on in the middle of his father's darkness.


Gregory House was lying down in the middle of a small meadow. The grass was long and the small six-year-old boy was entirely hidden in it. Greg liked to pretend the grass was a jungle and nobody could find him there, no matter what. The summer night was warm and the friendly darkness that covered the countryside gave Greg a feeling of safety. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely if you think about it, little Gregory House wasn't afraid of darkness.

No, little Gregory House was afraid of what darkness might be hiding. And what Gregory House was afraid of the most was currently halfway across the world in Vietnam.

Greg smiled slightly with satisfaction. It was wrong, he knew, to be glad his father was away from him, possibly in danger of his life. But despite the wrongness of it, Greg found himself hoping his father wouldn't come back.

The boy's fingers slid beneath his shirt and traced one of his ribs. It hurt when he moved too swiftly or put any pressure on it, but he was certain it was only bruised, not cracked. Greg was no doctor, but he knew all about broken bones.

Greg bit his lip when the memories of how his rib got bruised flooded him, but he forbid his mind from sinking into these thoughts. He was supposed to be happy today, since it was the first day after his father left for Vietnam when he was allowed to go out. His father had grounded him and his mother insisted on going through with the punishment. His father was already three days gone, but this was the first time since his departure that Greg had a chance to celebrate.

Not that this was much of a celebration, but Greg decided that if for once, he could stay outside as long as he liked without being beaten, bathed in ice or whatever other punishment his father deemed appropriate, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Greg fixed his wondering gaze on all the beautiful shining stars in the sky. He was almost a mile away from the small town where they lived now, so his view wasn't spoiled by light. He could see the constellation of Pegasus from here, along with a few others he recognized. Greg suddenly wondered what it was like near these foreign stars, what it was like to have one of these stars as the sun. Perhaps there were other planets like Earth near these stars, perhaps there were other people on these planets.

Or perhaps not. _Daydreaming again_, Greg chastised himself. He had to get rid of that nasty habit. His father hated it when he daydreamed and when his father hated something about Greg, the little boy always paid the price.

Everything was beautifully silent, only the occasional rustling of wind in the grass broke the atmosphere. The air had a general smell of something nice and pleasant that Greg couldn't quite identify, but he was somehow comforted by it.

All of the sudden, there was a noise that first made Greg jump. It was sort of wheezing and whistling and seemed totally foreign to Greg. A flashing light appeared out of nowhere, coming and going along with the weird sounds. Greg was getting a little scared now, but he fought down his instinct to flee or raise his head to look properly what the source of these sounds was. Instead, he kept lying down in the grass that was long enough to cover him up and waited without movement.

The sound stopped after a while and Greg wondered if it was over, not daring to look up from his hiding spot. He could feel his heart beating fast in his chest and he was almost afraid to breathe. Then another sound filled the air for a moment, the sound of somebody opening the door. It screeched a little, like the door wasn't too well oiled.

Wait, door? There were no doors around here. Greg carefully sat up. The grass was long enough to still cover him, even when he was sitting. He glanced in the direction of the noises and almost gasped when he saw the blue police box. He knew them because he had been to England the year before, visiting his Oma, and they had these boxes everywhere. But what in the name of the four dancing carrots (Oma's favorite expression) was one doing here?

A man was standing in front of the box. Greg could see him quite clearly, because there was light coming out of the open door. He didn't look dangerous. He had a suit, a red bow tie and his hair looked silly. He could be about twenty-five, perhaps thirty. The man looked more like a clown than a threat.

Bow tie man walked a few steps away from the box and let himself fall down in the grass. Greg could hear him breathing heavily, like he had recently run somewhere.

The door was still open and Greg found himself itching to find out what was inside. He was a curious little boy, he always had to know how everything worked, what everything did, why everything did what it did. He wasn't afraid any longer, now he just _had_ to find out what this was about.

Greg crawled quietly through the long grass, going slowly enough not to create too much noise. He avoided the spot where bow tie man was lying down and finally reached the door, creeping carefully through it.

Greg raised his head when he got in and this time he really gasped. The inside of the box was huge! The whole room was mostly in orange and blue colors, there were stairs, corridors, handrails, corners and all other sorts of amazing things. There was a column in the centre of the room and something inside it moved with a quiet whooshing sound. Greg slowly turned around to look out of the door. There was the quiet meadow, bow tie man was still lying down on the grass without noticing him.

Greg ran up the few stairs to the centre of the room. There was a console with many levers and buttons, the see-through column was in the middle and ended in the ceiling. The floor was glass and Greg could see many cables down there. This was a machine of some sorts, Greg realized.

Somebody was talking to him. He could hear a distant voice in his head and he turned around in panic, first thinking that it was bow tie man who caught him. But it wasn't, Greg was still alone in the room. So what was it?

It was more of a whisper, really, but Greg was certain it meant something. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The whisper grew stronger. At first, Greg didn't know what they were talking about, because it was in some unknown language, but then it suddenly started making sense and Greg understood. He couldn't make out the words or sentences, because the language didn't have any. It wasn't completely a sound either. Greg didn't know what it was, but he understood. They were talking of time, space, dimensions, vortexes, the stars. Greg couldn't comprehend all that was being said to him, but he knew generally what they were talking about.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" a sudden voice interrupted Greg in his concentration. His eyes flew open and he jumped a foot in the air, the quickly stumbled backwards. It was bow tie man.

"I-I-I... sorry, sir, I was just... I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean..." Greg stammered as he fought to find a way to explain why he was in the man's machine without permission.

"Calm down," the man reached out his hand to touch Greg's forearm, but Greg flinched away violently in fear. He had been bad and when anybody wanted to touch him after he was bad, it was always for punishment.

"S-sorry, sir, I'll go, I'll be better, just don't... please..." Greg trailed of desperately. He should get away from the man as soon as possible, even if he didn't seem too dangerous. When his father was angry, Greg could at least be rather certain that he wouldn't kill him. But this man was a stranger. You never knew what to expect from a stranger.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," the man lowered his voice and kneeled in front of Greg, obviously trying to make himself seem like less of a threat. "Has anybody ever hurt you?"

Greg stared at him. Why would bow tie man ask such a question? Did Greg give himself away by his reactions? He knew he shouldn't tell, his father had threatened him not to tell, but he was strangely tempted to say something to this man. He hesitated for a second, then slowly nodded his head.

Sympathy flashed across the man's face as he sighed. "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Gregory House, sir," Greg said very quietly. The Doctor didn't seem to be mad at him and he wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

The Doctor's eyes widened slightly. "Gregory House? _The_ Gregory House? Genius diagnostician, the founder of modern medicine?" he said excitedly, then noticed Greg's blank stare.

"If he's a genius, then it must not be me," Greg said in a subdued voice. "I'm stupid."

The Doctor calmed down a bit when he looked at the sad boy. "Who says that?"

Greg had to look away from the man's searching eyes. "My father."

"Is he the one who hurt you?" the Doctor asked carefully.

Greg felt panic engulfing him. He couldn't say that. His father would be angry enough with him as it was, if Greg told the man his father had hurt him, there would be hell to pay later. Greg forced himself to put on a stone mask, then looked at the Doctor. "No, sir. My father loves me, sir. Why would he want to hurt me, sir?"

The Doctor looked into his eyes intently and Greg felt like the man could see his very soul. The Doctor kept his gaze for a moment, then looked away and Greg felt satisfaction rising in his chest. People always found it difficult to look into his deep blue eyes and Greg was very well aware of this fact. He sometimes used it when somebody asked about his injuries.

"You don't have to call me sir. I'm just the Doctor." The Doctor stood up and walked to the console, flicking a few buttons and levers. Silence filled the room and Greg started looking around again, although he still kept one eye on the Doctor.

"So, what were you doing just a while ago when I walked in? Your eyes were closed," the Doctor inquired curiously.

Greg hesitated. Should he tell the Doctor about the whispering? It didn't appear to be a rational step to him, but the Doctor seemed safe to Greg. He didn't know why. He usually didn't trust easily.

"Somebody's whispering," Greg explained after a while.

"What?" the Doctor asked, genuinely confused.

"The-there is this whisper. They're saying something a-about time... and space..."Greg stuttered nervously and trailed off.

The Doctor's face took on a look of awe as it finally dawned on him. "You can hear the TARDIS whispering to you?"

"The TARDIS?" Greg questioned uncertainly. It seemed crazy to him, to hear voices in his head.

"This ship. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space," the Doctor explained quickly. Greg realized that the man was fascinated by him and swallowed uneasily.

Greg thought about it for a while, about what the TARDIS had whispered into his ear and about the name, then frowned. "So this ship travels through time, right? And it's bigger on the inside because this is a different world and the door is just an entrance?"

"How old did you say you are?" the Doctor said in a stunned voice.

"I didn't. I'm six," Greg informed him and hung his head. Stupid idea, saying his theories out loud. He knew they were stupid. There wasn't anything such as a magic door to another world. By now, he should know not to daydream or have silly thoughts like that.

"You're a genius. An absolute genius. I've only had one other human aboard this TARDIS who could hear her whispering, but she didn't understand what the TARDIS was saying. And I've never met any human being other than you that could comprehend the different dimensions as well as you can! Oh, Gregory House, it's such a pleasure - really, such a pleasure to know you!" The Doctor grabbed Greg's hand and shook it fiercely, looking at him with a smile on his lips.

Greg fixed the Doctor an astonished gaze. He was no genius, he was just a stupid child who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. His father said it all the time. Why would the Doctor think otherwise?

The moment was interrupted when the TARDIS beeped. The Doctor patted Greg's head and then shot up, jumping around the console excitedly. He pulled the monitor to himself so he could read it, then frowned a bit.

"I'm sorry Greg, but we'll have to say goodbye," the Doctor announced sadly. "The Queen of Alfa Centauri needs me to take care of something. She's having problems with the Daleks. Of course they'd find some way to make trouble."

Greg looked at the Doctor sharply. "Take me with you," he found himself saying before he even thought it through properly.

"I can't. It would be too dangerous for you. The Daleks are no fun," the Doctor informed Greg. "I hope we'll meet again, though. Perhaps we will."

"I don't mind it being dangerous!" Greg said quickly. And really, he didn't. He was used to danger, pain and fear - much more than was healthy for a little boy like he was. But Greg knew for sure that this wouldn't only be full of danger, pain and fear, this would be an adventure, it would be fun as well. And he would be away from his father. Oh, how much he longed for being able to escape from his father with the Doctor

"I'm sorry, Greg. I can't take you with me," the Doctor said with an air of finality and Greg knew that he couldn't persuade him. Greg's lip shook a little when he imagined what would happen when his father got home in six months.

The Doctor kneeled down and hugged the little boy tightly. He put his chin on Greg's shoulder and whispered into his ear : "Now listen to me very carefully. You're not stupid, you're the smartest little boy I've ever met. Your father or whoever hurt you doesn't know a thing - not a _thing_ - about the world, or being smart, or about compassion. You're very important. And you'll do just great."

Greg felt the Doctor pat him on the back. They just stood there for a few moments, then the Doctor let him go and Greg walked slowly, reluctantly towards the door. When he got there and gazed out into the warm night, he turned his head a little bit. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Thank you," Greg said, then walked out of the door, shut it and looked at the TARDIS. As it started wheezing and flickering and disappearing, he firmly told himself he wouldn't cry - yet a tear made its way down his cheek when the spaceship finally dematerialized.

_Perhaps we'll meet again_, Greg thought hopefully. _Perhaps he will take me away from dad._

[H]ouse

Greg never saw the Doctor again. His father came back from Vietnam and after a while, Greg just stopped looking for the blue police box that wasn't a police box at all.

After all, a little boy with a monster for a father couldn't afford to hope. It hurt too much.

Nevertheless, when Greg got accepted to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, he couldn't help but grin at the thought of his childhood "imaginary friend" - or whatever his mother wanted to call the Doctor. He knew the man with the blue box was real. And he knew why he wanted to be a doctor, apart from the Buraku he'd met in Japan.

_In you honor, Doctor_. _For giving me a tiny bit of hope in the middle of the dark times._


End file.
